Jeffrey M. Halpern, Ph.D.
he/him

Professor in Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering

Head of SEEDS Laboratory

Contact: jeffrey.halpern@unh.edu

Twitter: @JeffreyMHalpern

Prof. Halpern obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2010 at Case Western Reserve. His first post doctorate (2011-2012) was funded through a T32 musculoskeletal NRSA training fellowship at Case Western Reserve University. Prof. Halpern obtained a Fulbright Scholarship and Lady Davis Fellowship (2013-2014) to work at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The knowledge gained in all of these experiences is fundamental in the SEEDS Laboratory approach to sensing technology. 

Prof. Jeffrey Halpern is also very proud of his strong undergraduate mentoring plan. Prof. Halpern has mentored over 25 undergraduate students or summer interns, many of which are part of a minority group. A majority of these students have pursued or plan on pursuing post-graduate education. In 2019, Prof. Halpern received an Educator's Award from LEAP for Education as part of his mentoring efforts. 

Katarina Jovic-Dold, Ph.D.

BIO-SENS Post Doctoral Scholar

Contact: katarina.jovic@unh.edu 

Katarina Jovic Dold is a second-year postdoctoral researcher, who received her Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from UNH in 2023. Her previous work focused on cryoprotection by antifreeze proteins and thermodynamic stability of select proteins from bacterium Bacillus subtilis. In the SEEDS Lab she investigated the salt response of two surface-immobilized elastin-like polymers (ELPs), KI8 and I90, using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. She is currently leading and managing Proof-of-Concept Sensor Project within BIO-SENS, aimed to improve understanding of ELP behavior in the presence of an analyte. She enjoys spending time with family, playing with her dog, traveling, and watching crime YouTube videos.

Sarah Bramlitt-Harris, Chemistry PhD Candidate, 2026

Contact: sarah.bramlitt@unh.edu 

Sarah is a third year Chemistry Ph.D. student and General Chemistry (403 & 404) Teaching Assistant at UNH. She received her B.S. in Forensic Science and B.S. in Chemistry from the University of New Haven in 2019. Her undergraduate experience focused heavily on Forensic Science, which led to an internship at the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner’s Office. Her experiences during this internship inspired her to pursue graduate research in drugs of abuse. Currently, her research focuses on the development of a molecularly imprinted polymer-based sensor for the detection of codeine. 

Co-Advised with W. Rudolph Seitz

Ferdows Sajedi, Chemical Engineering PhD Student, 2027

Contact: Ferdows.sajedi@unh.edu

Ferdows is a first year PhD student at UNH. She received her Master's in Chemical Engineering from Sahand University of Technology in 2020. Her master’s project was about Synthesis of silica aerogel and its performance evaluation for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment. She enjoys hiking, shopping, traveling, and spending time with friends.

Henry Roell, Chemistry PhD Candidate, 2027

Contact: Henry.Roell@unh.edu

Henry is a first-year chemistry PhD student at UNH. He received his B.S. degree from Michigan Technological University in Houghton Michigan. At MTU, Henry performed research in Dr. Tarun Dam’s molecular biology lab, focusing on the purification of plant-based biomolecules and their interactions with red blood cells. Here at UNH, Henry’s research focuses on long polymer chains of elastin-like polymer’s (ELP) and their thermal responsive behavior. He plans to characterize the behavior of these polymers by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Zahraa (Zee) Albeshir, Chemistry PhD Cadidate, 2027

Contact: zba1000@usnh.edu

Zee is a first year Chemistry PhD student at UNH. She received her received her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of New England in 2022. Her undergraduate research focused on using computational sources to study the behavior of surface immobilized elastin-like polymers. Her research currently focuses on improving the longterm stability of analyte-responsive polymers bound to gold surface. Outside of the lab, she enjoys backpacking, skiing, and being around trees

Laurel Nelscott, Bioengineering PhD Student, 2029 

Contact: lhn1003@usnh.edu  

LinkedIn 

Laurel Nelscott is a second year bioengineering PhD student at UNH. They received their B.S. in bioengineering from UNH in December of 2023. Laurel’s current research focuses on studying the thermally responsive behaviors of surface-bound analyte responsive polymers. In their copious free time, Laurel enjoys sewing, lifting weights, and being around plants.

Cassie Lafleur, Chemical Engineering, 2026

Contact: cassie.lafleur@unh.edu  

Cassie is a sophomore undergraduate student majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). She’s involved with the Hamel Scholars Program, the Undergraduate Student Senate, the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) Program, and the Campus Living Association. Her research is through the CORE MINDERS Group, which is a collaboration between the Communications, Marketing, and Chemical and Bioengineering departments at UNH focussing on neurodiversity research. In particular, she is helping with a joint literature review paper on supporting neurodiversity among undergraduate researchers in STEM lab setting​s, as well as an American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) research paper on understanding the perspectives among neurodiverse undergraduate researchers in STEM.

Kate Lussier, Biomedial Science: Medical Microbology, 2026

LinkedIN

Lab Manager

Kate Lussier is a senior majoring in Biomedical Science: Medical Microbiology, and is also a member of the Honors College. She began working in the lab as an ARTS student in the summer of 2025. Kate's current research focuses on modifying glassy carbon surfaces with diazonium salt to attach and test the stability of a polyhistidine tag as a linker, using square wave voltammetry (SWV). After UNH, Kate hopes to continue her education in Biotechnology through a graduate program. In addition to working in the lab, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing field hockey, cooking, gardening, hiking and traveling. 

Timmy Tran, Computer Science, 2028

LinkedIN

Timmy Tran is a second-year computer science student at UNH. He is a member of the Hamel Scholar's Program in the Hamel Honor's and Scholars College. He is also a member of the Men's Ultimate Frisbee team and the NASA Lunabotics team at UNH. His work in the lab focuses on creating tools to expedite the data analysis and manipulation of EIS data for other lab members. After UNH, Timmy wants to enter the software engineering industry and is interested in exploring quantum computing as well.

Lien Tzu Wo Ching, Chemical Engineering, 2028

LinkedIN

Ty Valley, Chemical Engineering, 2028

LinkedIN